A New School with New Opportunities

NPH Bolivia has 45 secondary students who are going to a new school this year. With a new school comes new challenges and opportunities.June 13, 2019 - Bolivia

Renzo working on his homework in his house in the morning.

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This year our secondary students now attend Unidad Educativa Milena Paz Antelo II in the nearby town of San Ignacio, 2 kilometers away. Their new school brings new environments and challenges for our students, plus a new daily schedule, as well.

Renzo and his housemates wake up early, at 5:30 a.m., to begin their house chores and homework. Once their home is cleaned and homework is done, they start their fieldwork with our Agronomy Coordinator Hugo Antelo Vargas, which runs until lunch.

After lunch, the secondary students change into their uniforms, gather their school supplies, and have a quick reflection before heading to school. At school, the students stick to a three-class-per-day schedule, with two 10-minute breaks in between. Our students take a variety of classes, including math, language arts, physics, chemistry, biology, social studies, religion, psychology, English, art, and physical education.

“The new school has been really welcoming. And I really like all the different subjects that I can take,” Renzo says. “But, it’s really difficult to change schools and leave all the friends you made in the other school.”

At the moment, Renzo is learning about the respiratory system in biology, unit conversions in physics, the different emotions in psychology, the months of the year in English, and the order of operations in math.

Some of his favorite classes are history, science, and physical education, as he loves being active and playing sports, learning about the past, and working with animals.

“I really like history class, because I enjoy learning about what happened in the past, especially in Bolivia and the surrounding areas,” Renzo explains. “There is so much that has happened and so many stories to learn about.”

Every child at NPH Bolivia who has graduated secondary school and completed their year of service is guaranteed a fully funded university education. As only about 30% of people in Bolivia have a college degree, NPH Bolivia gives all of our students a significant opportunity to change the course of their life and break the cycle of poverty.

After graduating secondary school, Renzo hopes to continue his education at university and wants to study veterinary science. He is one of the more talented kids in the home in regards to farming and animal work. He wants to work on his own farm when he grows up.

“I come from a family of farmers and have a lot of memories working with the land and the animals,” he concludes. “It is what I was meant to do.”

Children’s names have been changed to protect their privacy.

Brad BobelCommunication Officer

You may be only one person in the world, but you may be all the world to one child.
—Fr. William Wasson